NEW DIRECTIONS dateline May 1, 2006
Rich has teamed up with Vicki Chmura to form the musical duo Comfort Food. Vicki not only plays guitar, bass and violin but is also a wonderful singer and songwriter. Their voices blend beautifully and between the songs they have written individually and together, along with their love of the country, blues and bluegrass tunes they will be covering, it will make for some interesting and delightful performances. Watch for upcoming shows.
DREAMING LESSONS RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCED: dateline September 1, 2004
Ten original tracks, and a few covers, make up Dreaming Lessons, an engaging collection of songs, and his most ambitious effort to date which exhibits the growth of Rich as a lyricist, composer and performer.
Recorded at BobDog Studios in Oak Park, and engineered by Christopher DeMonk, it is masterfully produced by Jim Kasiewicz, an accomplished guitarist and arranger, who joins Rich on some thrilling guitar tracks, along with Bill Kavanagh, on bass, and others.
Most of the songs on the CD were written in the past year, a time of great change for this evolving songwriter, who in tender and clever ways tells of love lost and found, of one man's elusive fantasies and odd alliances (Arlo’s Song).
The musical styles range from traditional folk (Hard Times), to Chicago blues (Cubbie Blue) and the strongest material comes in the form of original folk ballads, with their haunting and stirring melodies. (Such as So Many Days, written for Rich's late wife of 27 years).
The CD also features the beautiful violin work of Louise Brodie, and a cover of Scott Wiseman’s Remember Me, a duet with Chicago singer, Jamie O'Reilly.
It will be released on September 28. In addition to this web site, it will also be available from www.CDBaby.net.
Go to the music page to see the cover and sample some of the new songs.
FINISHING UP: dateline July 19, 2004
Recording and mixing has been completed for Dreaming Lessons. Rich hopes to have the CD available by Labor Day when he will be appearing at the Fox Valley Folk Festival.
WE'RE ROLLING: dateline April 8, 2004
Sessions for Rich's third CD began on March 24 and are expected to continue well into May. The album will be comprised of anywhere from twelve to fourteen songs, with at least ten of them being original compositions, most of them written within the last year. No release date has yet been determined.
MORE MUSIC COMING: dateline February 28, 2004
Rehearsals have begun at BobDog Studios in Oak Park for Dreaming Lessons, Rich's third CD. Musicians for the basic tracks will be Jim Kasiewicz on guitar and Bill Kavanagh on bass. Chris DeMonk will be engineering with Jamie O'Reilly calling the shots from the control room. Recording is scheduled to begin in mid-March.
